The government had planned to electrify the route, which campaigners felt would have reduced the journey times to the capital.

Now, however, transport secretary Chris Grayling said the government was abandoning the plan, which would have slashed train times to London by up to 13 minutes from its current average time of one hour and 45 minutes. But, the Government said it aims to introduce new ‘bi-mode trains’ on the Midland Mainline from 2022, which it says will deliver more than 1,000 additional seats per hour on journeys into London at peak times.

The Department for Transport also claims the new trains could improve journey times on long distance services from Nottingham by up to 20 minutes.

The news comes just days after the transport secretary confirmed the route of the HS2 line, which it is thought will cost at least £50bn.

Labour’s Lilian Greenwood MP said, "Whilst we've suspected this for some time, it is nevertheless shocking that Ministers have decided to completely scrap the electrification of Midland Main Line. Clearly this Government no longer even aspires to be the greenest ever.

“It's not clear whether bi-mode trains will be able to match the faster journey times electrification promised and I have real concerns that hard-pressed passengers will have to foot the bill for the higher cost of maintaining and operating these trains.

“If ministers think that the East Midlands will have forgotten about this by the end of the summer holidays, they're sadly mistaken."

East Midlands Trains currently operates the line, although the franchise will shortly be up for tender again, and it is thought whichever company wins the tender will be responsible for running the new trains.

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Jake Kelly, managing director of East Midlands Trains said: "Stakeholders and communities in the East Midlands and South Yorkshire regions worked hard to secure electrification for our route, so we are naturally disappointed on their behalf that the programme will not be going ahead.

"However, we are pleased that the government remains committed to delivering journey time improvements on the Midland Main Line which is the biggest priority for our customers.

“The planned completion of the mainline capacity works in 2019 – confirmed by the government today – will bring big capacity and timetable improvements for our customers and we look forward to working with government and Network Rail to secure them as quickly as possible."

Nottingham City Council Leader, Councillor Jon Collins, said: “This is a short term decision and bi-mode trains are a short term solution.

“Electrification of the Midland Main Line through the East Midlands is crucial to our vision for integrating HS2 into the existing rail network – and in particular for securing a connection with the HS2 line to enable direct high speed services between Leicester and Leeds. It is not at all clear that the alternatives to HS2 classic compatible trains can achieve the same level of performance.

“The East Midlands is being treated unfairly by the Government in missing out on this valuable transport investment. Sadly, it’s part of an ongoing trend for the region to see lower levels of rail investment than elsewhere in the country, particularly London and the South East.”

Leaders in the East Midlands have asked for an urgent meeting with Transport Secretary Chris Grayling and the Chair of Midlands Connect Sir John Peace to discuss the cancellation.